Ventilator



Oct. l0, s. w. BRUUN Erm.

VENTILATOR Filed Nov. 2e, 1942 2 sheets-sneer. 1

INVENTORS VEND W. BPI/UN w Oct l0, 1944. V.s l'w. BRUIJN ETAL y VENTILATOR Filed Nav. 26, 1942 .2Y sheets-sheet 2 slipstream 40 45REAR WIND INVENTORS A 5v5/vo W Bpl/UN "w ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 10, 1944 VENTILATOR Svend W. Bruun, Palisades Park, N. J., and 'Edward Rambusch, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignors to Rambusch Decorating Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 26, 1942, Serial-No.1467,036

8 Claims.

The present invention relates to ventilators,

and is more particularly directed to ventilators suitable Ifor use in portholes especially where it is essential to prevent the emission of light.

To minimize detection at night all light originating in a ship must be obscured so that no indication of light may be seen from outside the ship. In the transport service it is essential to maintain adequate ventilation and this requires that air be admitted through the portholes of the ship. Devices heretofore available for blackout ventilators for portholes have been expensive and comparatively inefllcient as ventilators. In them, the structures, deemed necessary to block off the light, have introduced suchresistance to air ow as to seriously impede it, especially -at low wind velocities. Furthermore they were generally ineffective, or a positive deterrent, when the wind was abaft the beam.

According to the present invention a blackout ventilator is provided which gives complete obscuration with and makes possible improved air ilow.irrespective of the direction of the wind. Theimproved blackout ventilatorl can be easily constructed from sheet metal with simple tools and made to t the 'varied conditions met with in practice. The improved device takes up no more room than that required for swinging the existing porthole cover.

According to the present invention there are` no exposed fastening or adjusting devices which are subject to salt spray or corrosion rendering them useless or difficult to operate, and, instead of using such devices, the invention contemplates the use of interiorly disposed fastening devices away1 from salt water spray and readily accessible. The present invention also contemplates a blackout porthole ventilator which may be readily adjusted for varying wind conditions without the" necessity oi' removal from the porthole. It is entirely possible to arrange the ventilators on one side of the ship to get air into the ship and those on the other side to discharge the air.

Other and further objects will hereinafter appear as the description proceeds.

The accompanying drawings show, for purposes of illustrating the present invention, an embodiment in which the invention may take form,.it being understood that the drawings are illustrative of the invention rather than limiting the same,

In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic top plan view illusv trating theventilator installed in place;

Figure 2 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow 2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view through the ventilator when mounted in the usual position in a porthole and taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view illustrating the blankfromv which the baille is made;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the ventilator removed from the porthole; and 1 Figure 6 is a diagram showing the Ventilating action of the device at varying speeds and directions of Wind.

A fragmentvof the hull of a ship is indicated at I0 and a porthole ring at Il, the porthole ring carrying a hinged window I2 and turn buckles I3. 'I'hese may be of varying forms and locations depending upon the construction of 4the ship. The arc I4 shows the path required by opening and closing the window.

The ventilator has a horizontal cylindrical casing I5 usually somewhat shorter than the diameter of the opening and of a size just Sulliciently smaller than the porthole opening to permit passing its outboard end I6 through the porthole opening. Spaced inwardly from the outboard end I6 of the casing is a suitable stop member, here shown as an angle I1, which is adapted to engage the usual4 gasket I'8 carried by the porthole ring. A band 20 somewhat smaller in diameter than the outer perimeter of the abutment member I'I is loosely received about the casing. This ring carries brackets 2I corresponding in number and angular position with the turn buckles I3 and when the turn buckles are tightened against the brackets 2|, as indicated in Figure 3, the cylindrical casing will be held in position in the porthole opening, and all the mechanism required for-holding the ven,- tilator in place'will be housed in the ship and securely protected against salt spray.

The cylindrical casing I5 receives two similar bailies 22 and 23. Each of these bafies is made from a sheet metal blank such as indicated at 24 in Figure 4. This blank has a central opening 25 adapted to receive a short length of rod 26. The` hole-25 departs slightly from va true circle. The' blank 24 has a V-shaped notch' 21 with edges 21a and 2lb. The radius of curvature at thepoint' 28 opposite the center of the notch is the same as the radius of curvature of the inside of the casing I 5. The radius of curvature increases in eachdirection from the point 28 to the points 29, 29 such that theperimeter 30 of the blank (measured 29-28-29) is the same as imeter relations are to be had the maximum radius of curvature, i. e. on the lines 21a, 21h, is equal to the distance from the center rod 26 to the upper end ofthe casing. This makes it posslb1e to distort the flat sheet 2t into a heme. such as shown at 22 or 23., and'have its perimeter 30 fit the inner wall of the casing l5 along a true helix, and rhave the perimeterl of thel hole 25 iit the bar 26 along anothernarrow helix, and have the edges 21a and 2lb of the blank extend in straight lines from the center of the bar 25 out to the inside ofthe casing I5. These two bales are placed 180 apart. The generatrix of the baille is a straight line turning through 360 about a fixed point and swinging such that it intersects a cylinder in a helical path.

With the arrangement of baffles described there is very little obstruction to the passage of alrthrough the porthole. The surfaces of the bailles against which the air from the outboard side impinges are at an angle in the neighborhood of 45, as will be apparentfrom the slope of the edges 21a .in Figure 3. As a result each bame intercepts the air at angles such as to facilitate deflecting it without substantially obstructcaused to traverse a spiral or helical path between the outboard face of one baie and the inboard face of the other baille. At no time is there a sharp change of direction of air movement, hence eddying and turbulence is avoided. The center of the baille at the point of minimum radius of curvature is at right angles to the axis of the cylinder. Thereafter the slope of the surface of the baiile increases; This increase in `angle makes it possible for the opposite or inner surface of the baille 22 to deflect the air which `has been passing in through the path determined by the baille 23 into directions such as to cause its. easy discharge into the ship. This arrangement makes it possible to avoid abrupt changes in direction of the air so that the pressure differential necessary to create air movement :through the ventilator is extremely small and the Ventilating capacity of the porthole is not lost. l In the construction shown in the drawings the bailles occupy 360 and are placed 180 apart. While much less bathing would obviously prevent all direct light rays from passing through the ventilator, this arrangement iscompletely effective in a single turn when the baffles are covered 4with light absorbing black paint, or the like, for preventing any reflected Aor scattered light from passing from theinboard side of the ventilator to the outboard side. From the point of view of light control and absorption these bailles oper-.

ate entirely differently from augur shaped, spiral provided with'an air scoop 3| carried on the outbard end of the'structure and normally adjusted so as to face forward as indicated in Figure 1.

This scoop is preferably cut` from a metal spinning. It `may be a simple 45 lune as diagrammatically illustrated in Figure l. The scoop is secured to a short extension 32 on the outboard end of the casing l5, this extension being so board end of the baille 2 3.

located relative to the ends of the baillesas to lie y about from the ends of thebailies.

When the ship is under way the air scoop picks up winds, whether abeam, head wind, or the air in the lslip stream, and diverts it toward the bailles which guide it into the ship.

In order to improve the operation of the ventilator for winds abaft of abeam the side of the scoop which is aft of the undercovered edge 21a of the` baffie23 is cut back as indicated at 33 in the drawings. This permits wind up to about 45 abaft of abeam to' blow in under the out- When the wind is behind this 45 line it is preferable to turn the entire ventilator through about 180 so that the scoop now receives this rear wind at a better angle. The ventilator can also be adjustedvto face the scoop rearwardly inthe lee side of the ship.

Figure 6 is a plot illustrating thev cubic feet 0f air per minute passed through a 14" ventilator at various wind velocities and directions, the wind directions being indicated by legends in capital letters. It will be noted that in each case the capacity of the ventilator increases very rapidly `at low wind velocities when ventilation is normally dilcult. Portions of curves of a comparative test with another form of blackout ventilator are indicated by the'short lines at the 10 mile per hour ,wind velocity ordinate and are designated by legends in lower case letters. The general characteristic of the curves of such a device show that the capacity-of the comparison vventilator is very low at low wind velocities where A inner ring which supports a screen 5I.

bailles having the contour of a twisted ribbon, a v

bar, a cork screw, or the like, for, while such `baies prevent the passage `of direct light, they provide curving light paths with parallel walls A which facilitate the `passage of light flux by reeminently suitable for use on shipboard at night it is more desirable and increases with higher wind velocities, the curves being generally convex downwardly instead of convex upwardly, as in the ventilator shown herein. The greatest difference, however, relates to the rear wind, for in such cases the other ventilator entirely fails to function for carrying air into the ship.

Where it is desired to have the ventilator carry a screen the ventilator may be provided with an This ring may be welded or bolted in place. To facilitate handling the ventilator it is yprovided with two handles 52 and 53, one handle being permanently attached and the other removable, so that the ring 20 maybe inserted on the casing or removed'. This ring isheld in its approximate location by suitable' stops 5l secured to the casing I5. v

The ability of the structure discussed above `to maintain Aventilation and prevent escape of light outwardly from the ship makes the device where blackout conditions must be maintained. It is also very well suited for daytime use, for

` example, in window openings and portholes for the daytime sleeping quarters for night workers, for darkness may be maintained without loss of ventilation. A A

Since it is obvious that the invention may be embodied in other forms and constructions within the scope of the claims, we wish it to be understood that the particular form shown is vbut one of these forms, and various modifications and changes being possible, we do not otherwise limit ourselves in any way with respect thereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A porthole ventilator for use in a porthole having the usual porthole ring, swingable window and window clamping devices, and comprising a cylinder slightly smaller than the porthole ring so as to be insertible into the opening therein from the inboard side, a flange about the cylinder for limiting the insertion, the length ofthe cylinder being such as to lie within the extreme arc of the swingable window, a loose ring adjacent the ange and having brackets the inboard side, a clamping ring adapted to.

be fixedly secured to the porthole ring, the clamping ring being loosely carried by -the body and engageable with the stop ring, the body of the ventilator being angularly adjustable when the clamping ring is loosened from Vthe stop ring,

and being fixed when the clamping ring is4 tightened against the stop ring, and means'carried internally of the cylindrical body for completely blocking oi the passage of light and for permitting the passage of air.

3. The combination with a ship having the usual circular porthole ring and window clampy ing turn buckles, oi' a ventilator having a cylindrical body insertible into the ring and carrying an annular abutment engageable with thering i and an outboard air scoop, and a ring loosely carried outside the body and adapted to bear against the inboard side of the abutment, devices carried by the last mentioned ring for cooperation With the turn buckles whereby the -ventilator can be secured in place from the inboard side of the ships hull and can be turned about the axis of the porthole tomadjust the position of the air scoop, and screw-like baiiles in the body for providing air' passages of triangular cross section and substantially 360 angular extent, the baiiies being light absorbing to prevent passage of light.

4. A `light excluding ventilator comprising a cylindrical shell adapted for insertion into a vertical wall opening from the inner side, an air scoop carried by the outer end of the shell so as to provide an exposed extension for diverting 'air vinto the shell, and means in the shell to helically guide the air entering the shell comprising a plurality of angularly displaced, black, opaque deilectors each comprising a single piece of con.. tnuously Y curving sheet material whose outer edge occupies substantially 360 of a helix and whose center is located in the shell axis midway between the ends o! the helix and whose end edges extend from the center of the deflector to its periphery in a direction oblique tothe shell axis.

5. A light excluding ventilator such as claimed in claim 4, having means interior of the wall for mounting the shell 'for adjustment about its axis so that the air scoop may be adjusted to intercept wind at diii'erent relative directions.

6. An air deflector for use in a normally horizontal cylindrical holder comprising va single piece of continuously curving sheet material having a curved peripheral edge which occupies substantially 360 of a horizontal helix and is at a constant radius from a horizontal axial line, a center which is at a point on said axial line midway between the ends of the helix, and straight inner and outer ends extending from said center to the helix in directions oblique to the axial line, whereby the slope of successive elements of the deiiector as measured from the axial line increases from a predetermined angle at one end of the deilector to at the center and then decreases to the same predetermined angle at the other end.v

7 A ventilator comprising a normally horizontal cylindrical holder and an air deflector in the form of a single piece of continuously curving sheet material having a curved peripheral edge which occupies substantially 360 of a horizontal helix and is at a constant radius from a horizontal axial line, a center which is at a point on said axial line midway between the ends of the helix, and straight inner and outer ends extending from said center to the helix in directions oblique to the axial line, whereby the slope of successive elements of the deflector as measured from the axial line increases from a Dredetermined angle at one end of the deiiector to 90 at the 'center and then decreases to the same predetermined angle at the other end, the pe-I ripheral edgeof the deector being secured to the cylindrical holden 8. A ventilator comprising a normally horizon- -tal cylindrical holder and two air defiectors each in the form of a single piece of continuously curving sheet material having a curved peripheral edge which occupies substantially 360 of a horizontal helix and is at a constant radius from a horizontal axial line, a center which is at a point on said axial line midway between the ends of the helix, and straight inner and outer ends extending from said center to the helix in directions oblique to the axial line, whereby the slope of successive elements of the deilector as measured from the axial line increases from a predetermined angle at one end of the deilector -to 90 at the center and then decreases to the svEND W. BRUUN. i EDWARD aAMaUscH. 

